MSI Press Blog

It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.   Since today is Tax Day, it seems like an appropriate time to explain how royalties and taxes are intertwined. Some authors become quite confused. Well, it is confusing because of the multiple years involved in royalty statements, payments, 1099s, and tax filings. Here is a visual that might help.   Books sold Royalties paid MSI sends 1099 to IRS and author Authors report royalties on 1040 (and to state) 2023 2024 2025 (January) 2025 (April) 2024 2025 2026 (January) 2026 (April) 2025 2026 ...

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  This week, we share a conversation with a first-time author, who is new, naive, and nervous when it comes to the financial side of authoring a book. Specifically, this author clearly did not understand the difference between royalties on list and royalties on net. The pertinent part of the conversation elucidating these differences is reproduced here. Typical Royalties on List and on Net Briefly, royalties paid on list are paid at a percentage of the list price of the book. Royalties paid on net are paid at a percentage of what the publishing house "earns" after costs are subtracted from gross revenue. The differences are explicate...

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's post attempts to answer royalties and the filing of taxes -- yes, it is that time of year! What to File If you received more than $600 in royalties last year (2023), your publisher is required to send you a 1099 with the amount of royalties paid listed. The 1099 is due by January 30. Chances are that your publisher did not take out taxes from your royalties. That is just not "a thing," so you will have to figure out what you owe the IRS from your earnings. If you received less than $600 in royalties last year (2023), your publisher will not send you a 1099. However, you are still required to report all royalties receive...

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today's post addresses the topic of royalties. I suppose that topic was conditioned by the fact that the first quarter of the year is when MSI Press calculates royalties for the past year and gets ready to pay them out to authors. Of course, royalty issues should have been sorted out before a contract was signed, but if one is still pending, and for the future, perhaps some of the information here will help. Kinds of Royalties Royalties can be calculated on list or net. Royalties calculated on list are pretty easy to figure. It is generally a percentage of the selling price of the book, regardless of costs encountered in producing and m...

  It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.  Today we take a moment away from our usual content to talk about an end-of-life preparation issue. This issue affects publishers, authors, and authors' families. What happens when an author dies? If all has been taken care of properly in advance, the next of kin inform the publisher, and the published continues to pay out the author's royalties -- to the designated family member. The problem is when not everything is taken care of properly in advance. Consider these two stories, associated with our publishing house, MSI Press. Cynthia (Cyn) MacGregor published Everyone's Little Book of Everyday Prayers with us a number of years ...